The fire affecting Fundão, in the district of Castelo Branco, continues with several critical points and is “very unstable” situation, said mayor Paulo Fernandes today, expressing hope for the swift reinforcement of resources on the ground.
This fire now has a perimeter of more than 40kms, and Fernandes believes the situation could worsen as temperatures increase.
The night helped to reduce some critical points, but the municipality only has one bulldozer to clear fire breaks, and aerial resources have been hampered by the sheer volume of smoke over the area.
This fire started last Wednesday in Arganil, and has since spread to the municipalities of Pampilhosa da Serra and Oliveira do Hospital (Coimbra district), Seia (Guarda), Covilhã and Castelo Branco (Castelo Branco).
Meantime, the wildfire that has been raging in Sabugal, district of Guarda, since last Friday has spread to the municipality of Penamacor, also in the district of Castelo Branco.
The situation is calmer in Sabugal now. In fact mayor Vítor Proença says he feels the fire is now “under control”, largely because “there is not much left to burn…”
Proença has said he is considering asking the government to declare a state of emergency in his borough due to the damage caused to agricultural and forestry properties.
For the time being, the government is saying very little. The prime minister and the Minister of Interior Administration attended the funeral this morning of the firefighter who died in Covilhã on Sunday, and were heckled by mourners, who shouted “you are not welcome in this town”. The antipathy towards the government’s handling of these fires has become an open wound that shows little sign of healing for quite some time.
Source material: LUSA
